FX.co ★ News from the U.S. pushed Europe's stock market lower

On Thursday, the leading stock indices of Western Europe closed the trading session in the red zone. Moreover, indices were rising steadily at the beginning of the day, however later they started falling. The key reason for the final market decline was the release of the latest US GDP report.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 fell by 0.08% to 431.10 points. Bloomberg, the leading U.S. financial information provider, reported that the STOXX Europe 600 indicator ends the current year with a decline of more than 13%. This decline will be the sharpest since 2018, and strategists call the negative consequences of the situation in Ukraine, as well as the global energy crisis its key reason.

The French CAC 40 fell by 0.95%, the German DAX lost 1.3% and the British FTSE 100 fell by 0.37%.

Leaders of Growth

The share price of the Swedish energy company Orron Energy AB went up by 3.6%.

German automotive and arms manufacturer Rheinmetall AG grew by 3.5%.

The share price of the Danish bank Danske Bank A/S gained 3.2% during the day.

British medical company Deltex Medical Group PLC soared by 12.9%.

The price of Danish Sydbank AS securities increased by 3.2%. On the eve of the management of the company improved its annual profit forecast amid rising interest rates by global central banks. Thus, tightening of monetary policy by key central banks contributed to growth of Sydbank AS income in the fourth quarter.

Market sentiment

On Thursday, European investors analyzed new data on the countries of the region. According to the final data of the UK Office of National Statistics (ONS), GDP was revealed to have shrunk 0.3% in the third quarter compared to the second quarter.

At the same time, preliminary data from the ONS indicated a 0.2% contraction of the economy in England, and analysts generally did not expect a revision of the preliminary estimate.

The drop in gross domestic product of Great Britain was recorded for the first time in the last 1.5 years. The key reasons for the decline of the economy were rising energy costs and an increase in key interest rates by European central banks.

By the way, the country's GDP grew by 1.9% year-on-year, rather than by 2.4% as previously reported.

On Thursday, European investors also turned their attention to the negative trends on the U.S. stock exchanges. Thus, leading U.S. stock indicators were down 2-3%.

As for the latest news from the United States, according to analysts' final estimates, the country's gross domestic product grew 3.2% in the third quarter. The stronger-than-forecasted data on the U.S. economy for the previous quarter fueled concerns about the Federal Reserve's monetary tightening in the near future.

Trading results the day before

On Wednesday, the leading stock exchange indicators of Western Europe closed the trading session in the green zone, demonstrating growth by 1.5-2%. Investor sentiment brightened due to new data and forecasts for Germany, as well as strong corporate news from European companies.

The Stoxx Europe 600 rose by 1.7% to 431.43 points.

French CAC 40 gained 2.01%, German DAX gained 1.54% and British FTSE 100 gained 1.72%.

European companies producing sporting goods rose on Wednesday on the back of stronger-than-forecasted reports of the U.S. competitor Nike Inc. for the past quarter. German Adidas AG and Puma SE soared 6.6% and 9.4%, respectively, while shares of British sporting goods retailer JD Sports jumped 6.1%.

The share price of the German energy company Uniper SE increased by 3.5%. The European Commission approved the stabilization package for Uniper, the recapitalisation involves an immediate cash capital increase of 8 billion euros.

The share price of French oil and gas company TotalEnergies rose by 3% amid rising global oil prices.

On Wednesday, European investors analyzed the latest data on Germany Thus, according to the data of GfK published in the morning, the research company is forecasting -37.8 points in consumer sentiment for January 2023, up 2.3 points from December of this year (revised from -40.1 points). At that, experts forecasted a level of -38 points. The growth of the index was recorded by analysts from GfK for the third month in a row..